House cleaning is evil….

I will be the first to admit it: I really dislike housework!! I would rather do almost anything else instead of being stuck in the house cleaning. I mean you just need to do it again and again …and rarely is the whole house clean all at once, atleast not in my house.

I think the thing is we have too much stuff and not enough storage areas. Either that or my house is suffering from “flat surface syndrome”….it seems that as soon as I have a flat surface, whether a counter, hutch, table or whatever, someone feels the need to put something on it. I’ve noticed this in many a house and wonder if there is a known cure.

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a clean house!! I am amazed by the people who have houses that actually look like something out of a magazine. I love the fresh smell of floor cleaner like Murphy’s Oil soap and freshly washed linen. The thing is I have so many other things I would rather be doing: gardening, walking, hiking, reading, sewing/quilting. Then add in the family and spending time with them. Oh and work–can’t forget that either!

So what to do? I could nag everyone in the house…but I don’t think the hubby or my two teenage daughters would appreciate it as they have things they would rather do as well that are more important in the long run; exercise, homework, decompressing after a tough day at work / school. Or I can accept that the ‘perfect house’ is just not a reality for us and deal with the clean clothes in laundry baskets (rather than in drawers) and try to corral the paper clutter of mail and magazines in a basket and just enjoy my life. I have a plaque that reads “This house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy” and I might be able to live with that…atleast until a rainy day happens.

What is your feeling on housework: a good thing to do or an evil that must be stopped? How do you deal with it either way?

(my thanks to the creator of the image which I found on google images)

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Janice….too funny! It wasn’t all that long ago that I was in your shoes. My house truly never, ever got really good and clean. Oh, it was passable if people stopped over, but clean-clean….nope! And I was okay with that. At the time we had 11 people living in the house plus 3 dogs and a couple of cats. Grown kids with their families had moved back home due to the economy and job market, one had decided to move back to Ohio from California with his family in tow because his firm was closing it’s doors…so you get the picture! Everyone pitched in and did their fair share, but for about two years there it was constant chaos and clutter! Fast forward about 6 years to the present…..all those kids are now in a better place financially and are out on their own, I’ve relocated to Oregon and currently live with my significant other in a small but decent size apartment with our dog. I can clean this place in about 2 hours max. And you know what? A clean home is over-rated! I would much rather have chaos, clutter and all those little grandkids running around making messes then looking at my dust free tables and clean carpets! We’re moving back to Ohio in a couple of months….it makes me smile when I think about it. There will be plenty of time for a clean house. Enjoy your girls and your husband!! Let them also enjoy you! And every time you look at that plaque of yours, smile! There is a lot of wisdom there!

I am pleased to say that I spend more of my time keeping life than keeping house!!! When I end up at the proverbial pearly gates, I will have lived to the fullest, loved, laughed and cried! My house may not pass muster, but it will not be of concern! Great post! Thanks for sharing.